Honeymoon
by jinted
Summary: Hermione is dumped at the altar by her fiance. She goes on her honeymoon alone and meets a stranger that might not be a stranger. Bad at summaries, story is slow at first but will pick up!
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: Anything you recognize in this story is not mine.

Honeymoon.

Chapter 1

"I'm ready," Hermione said, taking off her silk robe. Just a few months earlier she would have been shy about walking around clad in only her bra and knickers but after three months of intense dieting and exercising, though she would never admit it publicly, she wished she had more opportunities to show off her tone body not just in front of her bride's maids.

"I never understood why the brides always get their make-up done before wearing their gowns," Hermione's best friend Ginny Potter, née Weasley, wondered as she took the strapless wedding gown off the hanger. The gown had a beautiful asymmetrical bodice that was beaded with pearls that fell onto a full chiffon skirt. Hermione had designed it herself to make it one-of-a-kind. Each pearl was hand sewn by her to make the dress perfect even though there was a simple spell that would've made the work seconds instead of the days she'd spent crouched over the satin dress. "Shouldn't they wear their dress before the make-up?"

"No," Lavender said. "You don't want to mistakenly stain the dress. What bride wants to walk down the aisle with a huge blob of foundation on her chest? Didn't you figure that out at your own wedding?"

Hermione being the muggle-born witch she was, she wanted everything about her wedding as muggle as possible. Even down to the finest details. It wasn't that she was marrying a muggle but ever since she was little, even before she found out that she was a witch, she had a dream wedding already planned out. There was nothing that was going to stop her from getting it.

"Plus, wearing the gown has to be the last thing in preparations. How will you ooh and aah soon after the bride wears the dress if her face still looks like crap?" Luna Zabini née asked. "You need the full effect." She said dramatically.

"I think Blaise is wearing off on you" Hermione teased. "Ginny does have a point. What if my dress gets stained by all this make-up?" She pointed at her face. She had put a charm on her dress wear no magic can alter the dress. The make-up artist had done a wonderful job and she didn't want to undo it mistakenly wiping her her face with her dress.

Luna sighed audibly. "Am I the only one with a brain here? You put your feet in first." She wanted to say 'duh' but she held it in. She didn't want them teasing how much she was like Blaise again.

After a few minutes of very careful tugging and stretching, Hermione stood still as Ginny finished lacing up the bodice.

"Aww," the chorus began. She wasn't the first girl of the lot of them to get married but every bride was a queen on their wedding day. "You look so beautiful."

She laughed at their chorus and turned around to look at her reflection in the mirrors behind her. At 5'4 she wasn't the tallest girl in the world but she was content with her height. When she was younger and even just a few months ago she didn't think her body filled out the way she thought it should and she wanted to be in another body like a models. But not anymore, she thought, twirling around and laughing as her huge skirt created a breeze around her. She had managed to drop down two sizes and was loving every bit of it.

"You're going to get dizzy!" Ginny warned, grabbing her shoulders to stop her. She dragged Hermione and put her in her dressing chair. "Let C-c..," she stammered, glancing at the make-up artist as she tried to remember her name. It wasn't that she was inconsiderate enough to not learn her name; it was her brain that was already brimming with emotions created from seeing her best friend getting married after all that has happened throughout the years. "Let her touch up your make-up so that we can head out to the wedding hall. We don't want to keep the groom waiting."

* * *

As the hairstylist straightened her hair, Hermione stared at herself in the mirror. After four years of dating and one year of wedding plans, in mere minutes was about to get married to the man of her dreams.

She looked down at her square cut 2 carat diamond ring on her left hand and smirked. Man of her dreams? More like the man of every women's dreams. And she wasn't just saying that, he'd been named one of the most eligible bachelors by both _WitchWeekly _and the _Daily Prophet_. At 6'1, he was lean, handsome, and generous. He was pretty much the type of guy you read about in romance novels—he knew it too. When they fought, she found his arrogance annoying but other times, she was proud of his self-confidence. He was smart, thorough and unyielding about his needs, which was why he was one of the rising stars at his investment bank both in the muggle and wizarding world and why Hermione had worn her hair pin straight for almost five years now.

"Ouch," she yelped as the straightening iron touch her scalp. "I thought you were done with my hair!"

"I'm just doing the finishing touches," the unsympathetic hairsylist said. The client's hair was much curlier and unruly than she expected, so it had taken an unusually long time to do.

Hermione turned her attention back to her reflection. She was never considered as pretty or beautiful throughout her life but now that she had lost some weight, she herself considered that she could pass off as pretty. She was a balanced combination of her parents—taking her mother's bright brown eyes and pert nose and her father's very distinct heart shaped but thin lips. Before meeting Chris, she had always tried to create the illusion of fuller lips with a lip liner and lipstick and even some charms but she stopped after he insisted that he loved her just the way she was.

She readjusted herself on the chair and sighed dreamily. Chris wasn't the man she would've picked out for herself but apparently, Merlin had much greater plans.

Their initial meeting wasn't one of the magical or graceful moments she would've wanted. She was running late as it was to meet an editor to show her new winter designs, but she had to stop by her favorite café in muggle London for a cup of coffee and she was delayed even further by the long line. As she ran down the streets to make it to her office before the editor arrived, she bumped into him and spilled her coffee down his crisp, white shirt.

Being the gentleman that he was, instead of becoming irate, he gave her his card and had been very gracious about letting her pay for his dry cleaning. She would've casted a stain removing spell but she thought he was a muggle. The next day, when she dropped by his office to pick up his stained shirt, he'd insisted on taking her out to lunch and the rest, as they said, was history. What made things a lot easier was that he was a wizard too.

Ginny bent over and placed her hand on her best friend's shoulders. "Ready?" she asked as she looked at Hermione's reflection.

She nodded. "Yes, I'm ready."

As Ginny helped her stand up, Hermione reflected on what she just said. After all the stress and aggravation that had come with planning the wedding, making the perfect dress, finding the perfect hall, perfect cake, perfect centerpieces, perfect flowers and they all complemented the perfect man.

She suddenly jumped up and down. "I'M GETTING MARRIED!" she yelled before all the women in the room gathered around and hugged her.

* * *

"You're so beautiful," Harry said, covering his mouth with his hands as he stared at her in awe. She just walked out of the hotel and was about to get into the waiting limo.

She reached over and hugged him. "Thanks Harry." She shook her head and laughed when she noticed the tears developing in his eyes. He was her best friend since age 11. They were there for each other throughout their years at Hogwarts, through the war, and life afterwards. He was there for her when her parents were killed by Death Eaters who still had a grudge on them after the war. He was there for her like a brother she never had. No he was going to walk her down the aisle so she could marry the man of her dreams.

"Ready to take the deepest plunge of your life? " He teased.

She took a deep breath. "Ready as I'll ever be."

He took her hand and with the help of Ginny, got her and her yards and yards of chiffon inside the car. He shut the door and waved as Hermione and her bride's maids got into the limo. "See you at the wedding hall!"

* * *

"What time is it?" Harry asked.

"Add five minutes to what I said last time," Lavender snapped.

It had been two hours since she arrived at the hall and Hermione's make-up had already began to bleed. She looked at the watch Chris had given her a few months earlier. She'd already called him at least fifteen times in the last hour and all she got was his voicemail. His parents were also bewildered by his absence and the groomsmen said that everything had been fine when they left him earlier in the day. So why wasn't he or his best man answering their phones?

Hermione drummed her fingers on the table as she tried to rack her brain for an explanation. She at first chuckled at the idea that he picked the worst time to prove to the rest of the world he too could be tardy, but two hours? That was just plain ridiculous. Had they got into an accident? She suggested calling all the local hospitals but everyone had told her to wait a little longer. But if nothing was wrong, why wasn't he calling her?

The door creaked open and Molly Weasley stuck her head in. Molly had become a second mother to her after her parents had passed away. She gave Hermione the thumbs up. "Hang in there deary," she encouraged, her shaky voice betraying her true feelings. "With the rain, the traffic must be hell now."

Hermione nodded. "I'm sure you're right Molly." It had rained shortly after she arrived at the church but it hadn't lasted for more than fifteen minutes.

"Of course I'm right." Molly grinned. "Be patient. I'll go out there and keep Chris's parents company."

As soon as she shut the door, the room once again fell into silence.

"What time is it?" Harry asked about two minutes later.

What time was it? Hermione glanced at her watch. It was getting closer and closer to the time dread would being to set in.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2 

About two and a half hours into waiting for the groom, there was a knock at the door. Hermione at glanced at the rest of the room's occupants then told the person to enter.

The door slowly opened as Michael, Chris's best man and best friend since their years at Durmstrang, walked into the room. Hermione had never like him much and had been cordial to him simply because of his relationship with her fiancé, but at that moment, she never been so glad to see anyone.

She jumped out of her chair and ran to him, holding onto her gown to keep from tripping over the train. "What's going on?"

He took a deep breath and tried to avoid looking into her eyes. He had just come back from trying to convince Chris to go through with the wedding and he knew he didn't have the energy to watch Hermione's heart to break right in front of him. He just couldn't understand why his friend had to wait till the worst possible time to decide he wasn't ready. Michael couldn't help but blame himself for his friend's change of heart. Maybe he shouldn't have gone drinking with him the previous night and teased him about losing his freedom. Maybe if he had kept his mouth shut about all the other witches Chris would never get to sleep with and how he was not longer in complete control of his life, they would've been at the reception by now. But instead, he was trying to keep himself from shaking like a leaf in a tornado so that he could articulately relay the awful news to her.

"So where is he?" Hermione asked anxiously. "Is he okay? Why haven't you been answering your phones? What's going on?" She asked, shaking him, trying to get him to speak. "Why didn't he come with you? Is he sick? What's going on?"

As she shook and badgered him, watching his eyes dart around as his lips quivered, realization finally set in. Why else would Michael look at her with embarrassed eyes as he struggled to come up with words?

* * *

"No, I'll do it," Harry said, blocking her path. "Why should you go in there and say this? How does that make sense?" He yelled. "Let me do it!"

It wasn't the time for him to be the hero once again and Hermione just wasn't having it. She pushed him away and walked through the door. It wasn't like it was any bride's dream to go in front of a church in her full regalia and tell all her friends and family, those who'd flown in from far and wide, some she never even met, that she had been jilted at the altar.

Jilted.

_Jilted._

As in abandoned. Discarded. Thrown out. Ditched. Dissed. No, no just dissed but dis-missed.

In a million years she wouldn't have imagined this. Hermione Granger? The war-hero. One-third of the Golden Trio. The brightest witch of her year.

But why? What had she done? Chris had been as interested in the wedding as she was, always suggesting things, nixing ideas, making sure that everything was up to this standards, not worrying about the monetary burden because it was supposed to be their day. Their special day. The most important and happiest day of their lives. But he fucked it all up.

Ginny and Harry tried to stop her from walking into the church but she ignored her. Was she going to be less embarrassed if someone else relayed the news? Tell them that they have wasted their time getting dressed that morning? That they shouldn't have bothered RSVPing? That they shouldn't have thought about teeir gifts? Gifts. Shit. Now she had to return all their cash and gifts.

She pushed open the double doors and as she walked in, the organist started playing.

Was he retarded? She wasn't a mean or crude person but at the moment she was thinking straight. What kind of bride walked down the aisle alone and before the groom? She wanted to scream at the old man for playing that disgusting song but instead, she raised her hand and hoped he understood the message.

And luckily he did.

The bored and tired audience suddenly awoke as she walked down the aisle towards a bare altar with all the Gryffindor courage she had. It wasn't exactly a surprise to most of them. They had only remained in their seats out of courtesy. Of course the wedding wasn't on. Most had long since been hungry as they had skipped lunch in anticipation of the reception. Word had gotten around that Hermione and Chris had hired one of the wizarding world's premiere chefs and they were all hoping that he lived up to the hype. But not they would have to make do with fast food.

Hermione picked up the microphone. Yes, she could do it. She wasn't in Gryffindor for nothing. It wasn't impossible—it could be done. And _had _been done by other women before her. She just had to dig deep and find a little more strength. She inhaled then turned around to face the crowd. She planted a smile on her face and waved at them. "Hello everyone," she began in what she hoped was a very steady voice. "Thank you so much for taking time out of your busy lives to celebrate my wedding today. Unfortunately, the groom can't be here so the wedding is canceled. I really do apologize for the inconvenience but hey, I look great, don't you think?" She asked twirling around to showcase the gown. Her heart was beating like mad but she ignored it.

The crowd responded by clapping.

"Since there won't be a wedding how about a celebraton of life? My life, your life, everyone's life."

The crowd cheered again. They could see she was trying to make the best of the situation and they just wanted to make her feel better. Most felt nothing but pity for her and could only imagine what the _Daily Prophet_ would write the next day. No press was allowed into the wedding ceremony but a few witnesses said they might have seen a beetle flying around.

"Chef Lee is going to be so upset if all his food goes to waste so why don't we just go to the reception and have a big party? After spending so long planning this thing, I need you all to see my decorations and taste the raspberry cake Molly chose. Let's all head there now. The address is on your programs."

* * *

"I'm so sorry," Harry said as he hugged her. His wife did the same. They stood in front of here, alternating their weight from foot to foot, both reluctant to leave. On a different day, Hermione would have laughed at them because if they were underwater, they would have looked like synchronized swimmers.

"You guys can go. I'll be okay."

"But I don't want to leave you in this hotel room all by yourself. Why don't you just go home with us?" He begged. Hermione had apparated back to the hotel room that she was in just hours ago getting ready for the wedding.

"We already paid for the room so why should it go to waste?" Besides, she needed some peace and quiet. She'd spent the whole day being fawned over and now she just needed them to leave. She was bone tired and needed to sleep.

She gently shoved him towards the door. "You guys should go. I'm really okay so don't worry. I honestly believe it's for the best." She pause and looked at the bed. "Or do you want to help me get rid of them" She half-joked, pointing at Luna and Lavender.

The guests had been great and almost all had shown up for the reception. They ate and danced and tried their best to put their hearts and souls into the so-called celebration of life. And Hermione might have succeeded if Luna and Lavender hadn't come up to room and let out all their frustration.

The crying had been going on for over ten minutes and Hermione was sure that they have managed to give themselves a headache.

"You guys need to go. Now." She pressed.

Luna and Lavender got off the bed and hugged her, not caring that their tear stained faces were wetting her cheeks.

"What a fucking bastard!" Ginny muttered. "He better not show up or I'll kill him."

Luna disentangled herself from the hug. " As soon as I leave here, I'm going to stake his apartment. If he dares show up, he's dead!" She said with determination that no one had ever seen in Luna.

Hermione sighed. "If we weren't meant to be, isn't it better that we didn't get married? If he's not sure that he wants to marry me, then it's better this way."

"But how can he be sure? You're marvelous!" Lavender cried before letting out a fresh batch of tears.

After some more coaxing, they finally left Hermione to her solitude.

She locked the door and walked into the bathroom and washed her face. She stared at her reflection and now that she was all alone, she no longer had to pretend to be unaffected. She stared at her brown eyes. Was that really the face of a rejected woman?

She walked back into the room and jumped on the soft king size bed and turned on the television. She kept flicking through channels till she stopped on a movie. She checked the details of the movie.

Great.

Was she honestly about to watch a movie called 'Best Couple'?

Fustrated, she threw the remote control at the television, but unluckily missed it by an inch. Best couple? She and Chris were supposed to be the best couple. It had been Hermione and Chris for so five years. They had been the couple all their friends admired and envied. They were the couple everyone else aspired to be. They laughed and played together, supported each other. Loved each other. But there she was on her wedding night, wearing her wedding dress and watching a movie she didn't care for.

Why?

Had he really left her?

Without a word?

Not even a phone call?

He disappeared. Just like that. Couldn't even care less about informing her of his change of plans.

_Poof!_

Into thin air.

Bastard.

She picked up her pillow and threw it against the wall. But she still felt like shit. And he was still an ass. He even made her friends cry. She reached down for her shoe and threw it at the bathroom door. He embarrassed her and her friends. She grabbed the hotel brochure and threw it on the floor. She kept throwing every single thing she could get her hands on till there was nothing left. Then she stopped and the tears flowed. And flowed all night long.

_AN: I hope you like it. It's still a little slow paced and no Draco yet but I promise you he will appear soon. Please read and review! Thank you for reading!_

**RoSaDbAdAsSgUaRdAiNa**: I know its the worst thing that could ever happen to a girl!

**IGOTEAMEDWARD**: Chris is a wizard that works both in the muggle and wizarding world. So he know his muggle stuff.

**Janey Faith Banquee**: Thanks. Here's the next chapter.


	3. Chapter 3

**AN: **_Here's another chapter, I wanted to get out the slow chapters out pretty quickly but still giving Hermione her time to mope. After all she did get dumped at the altar._

Chapter 3

"Thank you," Ginny told the concierge as he opened the door. After knocking at the door and calling for Hermione continuously for ten minutes with no response, she had gone down to the front desk to them to let her in. Initially, they had refused, citing guest privacy, but after hearing about what had happened the previous day, they agreed.

She wasn't pleased with Hermione's decision to stay at the hotel so as soon as she got up after a sleepless night, she made sure she prepared her best friend's favorites dishes to help cheer her up. Then she was bringing Hermione home with her. Enough was enough. She had already promised herself that she wouldn't let Hermione go back to flat and spend her nights reliving the times she and Chris spent together. Regardless of how much she insisted she could handle it, it wasn't the time for her best friend to be alone. She was coming with her and that was that.

But five minutes into knocking on the door and calling her phone, Ginny had began to panic. Hermione wasn't the type to do anything drastic. Even through everything she went through she had never done anything drastic. But this could've been her breaking point.

Pushing the door open, she absentmindedly handed the concierge a few pounds from her purse, not bothering to see what it was then tentatively stepped into the room.

Her heart settled and she let out a sigh of relief when she saw her friend's gently heaving chest lying across the bed and then looked around the room.

She tried her best to stop the tears as she looked at the mess. Her poor friend.

She bent down and picked up the mini bottles of vodka and other alcoholic drinks. A tear dropped down her cheek as she imagined the pain her friend had to experience again the night before and hoped that what looked like the entire contents of the mini bar had at least helped dull the pain a little. Maybe it was her fault for making Hermione pursue her interest in Chris.

* * *

"Wake up, Honey. Wake up."

Hermione was awoken by the gentle shakes of her friend. As it had been a few years since she had lived with Ginny, she was about to ask her what she was doing in her room till her headache hit and all the memories flooded her.

"Ginny, what do you want?" She asked before turning her back towards Ginny. The previous night had been bad enough and the last thing she wanted to do was spend the day watching everyone giving her sympathetic looks and using sickening clichés to make her feel better. She just wanted to lie in bed, order room service and pretend that nothing had happened.

She spent the past few weeks packing for the move to the house Chris had bought and she wasn't in the mood to go back to the flat and start unpacking. A few days in denial were all she needed, she thought as she pulled the comforter over her head.

"Mione, get up. If you go and take a shower, I'll give you what I brought," Ginny said in the baby voice she used on her five year old students she taught.

"Ginny just leave me alone." Hermione said, her voice muffled by the pillow.

Ginny shook her gently again. After cleaning up the room, she sat and watched her sleeping friend and tried to find the courage to put up a brave front but every time she thought she was ready, a few tears had escaped her eyes so it had taken her about thirty minutes to get to her current state.

"Mione?"

"Please leave me alone. I just need to sleep a little."

"It's already past 3 o'clock," her friend pointed out.

"I slept late last night. Please leave me alone." She begged.

Ginny reached across to brush her hair with her fingers but Hermione pushed her hand off. Didn't her friend realize that sympathizing with her only made her feel worse? Didn't she understand that she would only feel worse from seeing her best friend pretend to be optimistic?

"You should at least eat something."

"I will."

"Is there a microwave oven in here? Or I can just use a warming charm."

"Don't worry about it. Leave the food here and I'll do it myself."

"Will you at least take a shower?"

"I will, Giiny."

"Now?"

"Ginny!" she yelled suddenly turning over and sitting up. "Ginny, I'll do everything."

* * *

On seeing her face for the first time, Ginny tried her best to keep her cool but she couldn't stop herself after seeing her daughter's bloodshot and puffy eyes. She hadn't seen her best friend like this since her parents had passed and that was almost ten years ago. What had Chris done to her? "I'll leave as soon as you take a shower, okay? I won't make you come home with me but please get out of bed for a while. Just take a shower, eat something and let me leave here knowing that you are okay. Please."

The phone rang as Hermione walked out of the bathroom. She groaned and put on her robe. She loved that everyone wanted to reach out to her and offer their support but wished they understood that she wasn't ready.

Ginny turned to her. "Are you expecting a call?"

"No," she started to say before she got an idea. "Ginny can you do me a favor?" she whispered.

"What?" her friend asked curiously, automatically lowering the pitch of her voice to match hers.

"Can you find out who that is and tell them I'm not here?"

Ginny looked at her sadly. "Hermione, they're only calling because they love you."

"I know," she interrupted, "but I am not in the mood to talk to anyone. So please tell whoever it is that I'll call them later."

Ginny gave her one last look and reached for the phone. "Hello?" After a moment, she put her hand over the mouthpiece and looked up at Hermione. "Did you order a taxi?"

She shook her head. "No."

Her friend shrugged. "Maybe it's a mistake." She took her hand off and spoke into the phone. "Hello, I think you might.."

"Wait!" Hermione interrupted, suddenly noticing the neatly packed pair of suitcases filled with brand new clothes next to the closet. "It's my cab to the airport."

Her friend's face colored for a moment before she moved the phone closer to her mouth. "Can you please apologize to the cab driver? Our plans have changed and we won't be needing their services any longer," she said before hanging up.

Ginny stared at Hermione for a few moments before planting a fake smile on her face. It was sad because she remembered going shopping with Hermione for her honeymoon clothes and how much she had looked forward to visiting Aruba.

Ginny watched Hermione as a barrage of emotions shot through her face till she suddenly jumped across and picked up the phone. She dialed 0 and waited for the line to be answered. "Hello? This is room 1645. I think you just called me. Yes. Yes. Please tell the cab driver to wait for me. I'll be down there in about ten minutes. Thanks."

* * *

_AN2: Thanks for reading.  
_


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Hermione handed her passport to the airline employee behind the check-in counter. "It's an electronic ticket," she informed the heavily lipsticked lady.

The lady took it from her then typed the information in as Hermione placed her luggage on the scale to be weighed. The lady read the information on the screen and looked up at her. "It looks like you've already chosen your seats. Is that your companion?" she asked, pointing at the next person in line.

She turned to look before she realized who her supposed companion was. She took her deep breath in and said, "No."

"Gordon, Chris. Will he be checking in shortly?" the lady asked, oblivious of the expression on her customer's face.

"No. I'm traveling alone."

"Oh, I see," the lady said, before typing some more on her computer. "I see you bought a flexible ticket. Do you want to change the other ticket's date so you don't lose the first half of it? We can only refund tickets if you make changes before the confirmed flight date. Let me see," she said, hitting the keys with zeal. She had always been very careful with money and loved helping passengers use the system to avoid getting taken advantage of by her greedy employer. "I can just switch it to another day. Let me…"

Was this woman kidding her? She wondered as she balled her hand into a fist. Almost close to the point she was about to take out her wand and hex the woman but she reminded herself that she was in an airport filled with muggles. Why she wanted everything the muggle way for her wedding was beyond her. "It's fine. Just check me.."

"Yes!" the lady exclaimed with pride. "I can move it to next weekend but you have to be sure to call the airline before then to switch it to your preferred date. I'll print…"

"Miss!" Hermione yelled. "Just check me in, okay?" She pointed at herself. "I already told you that I am traveling alone so just check me in so I can go to the gate and not miss my flight!"

"Yes, Ma'am." The lady maintained a smile on her face even though she was boiling on the inside_. So much for kindness. _A childhood friend had hooked her up with the job, telling her that working there would be a piece of cake but day after day, she had to deal with irate passengers. What was so wrong with what she had done? She picked up the baggage tag from the printer and placed it on the bag then hit the button for the conveyor belt. "Fuck this place," she muttered under her breath. _Maybe it was time to get back to waitressing._

_

* * *

_

"Enjoy your meal," the stewardess said after handing Hermione a tray of food. Since she was flying business class, she got to use real silverware and drink from a real glass, so as she looked at her plate of lasagna, she hoped it tasted half as good as the salmon looked sitting on the plate a few seats from her. She turned back to look at the browned cheese on her plate and promised herself to take a better look at the menu on her return flight.

She planned on enjoying her flight but it had been quite bumpy so far and the 'fasten seat belt' sign was permanently on. Plus it certainly didn't help that the empty seat next to hers was a constant reminder that she really was all alone in the world.

The trip was a wedding present from his family and Chris had taken charge of planning it. He found a honeymoon package that he promised would be the most romantic trip of their lives.

She picked up her fork and grazed the top of her dinner. Maybe she should have listened to Ginny and not come on the trip. She left the pleading woman to clean up the mess she had left behind which included sending Chris's bag back to him and getting rid of the wedding gifts that had managed to find their way there. _And for what? To spend six days by herself in a foreign country? But what the hell?_ She thought as she forked a piece of lasagna into her mouth. She deserved the break after all the months of planning that had gone into the wedding. Plus she had already taken the week off so what else could she do? Walk into work on Monday and pretend that nothing had happened?

"Hmm." The lasagna was better than she expected. Business class passengers really did get better service. For the second time since she had got on the plane, she felt guilty about not giving Chris's parents the chance to get a refund on their gift. His father, especially, had always been good to her so she bore no ill towards him. After all it wasn't his fault that his fault that his son was a git. But if she and her friends had to lose the money they spent on the wedding, so did his, she decided as she cut a huge chunk off her lasagna.

* * *

"Does it taste good?" The man sitting about two seats away asked. He was a handsome man in his thirties and from his crisp white shirt and pants. Hermione decided that he was a business traveler. They were seated on the same row although Hermione was on the right side by the window while the gentleman was in the middle section. They had exchanged a few words since the flight had taken off but nothing of real significance.

He was talking to her because he was bored and so was she, so there was no harm in talking to a stranger, she mused. She smiled at him to confirm that she was welcome to some conversation then glanced at her plate and nodded. She covered her mouth as she quickly chewed the food left then took a sip of white wine to clean her teeth. She coughed and beat her chest. "Yes, it's not bad."

"Are you okay?" He asked, stretching his hand out in aid.

She nodded then pointed at her plate. "It's pretty good."

"Good. I had it the last time I took this flight so I wanted to try something different today."

"And was that a good decision?" She asked, glancing at his half-eaten fish.

He nodded. "Yeah. And next time, you can also try the chicken—it's good too." He cut off a piece and held it out to her. "Why don't you taste it?"

Was the guy crazy? She had seen people offer strangers food in movies but did it actually happen in real life? He wanted to feed her off his fork? She certainly didn't know where that mouth had been! She laughed. "No thanks. You said you've been on this flight before, do you travel to Aruba often?" She asked, changing the subject so as to prevent him from insisting on sharing his food.

He shrugged. "Here and there. Is this your first time?"

She nodded enthusiastically. "I hear it's a beautiful place."

"It is. But are you visiting by yourself?"

She nodded again but this time with much less enthusiasm. And once again, she wondered if she made a mistake about the trip. Would she have to spend the entire time fielding questions about her solo vacation?

"Do you know anyone there?" He asked with raised eyebrows.

She shook her head. "Not really. But the package we—er… I got is pretty great. I think we get to snorkel, do some horseback riding, gamble, and a whole bunch of other things."

"Well, there's nothing to worry about anyway," he said cheerfully. "And now you know someone." He pointed to himself and laughed and for some reason, she laughed too.

* * *

"You were right," the man said, taking his headphones off. "This movie is boring."

He had switched seats and was sitting next to Hermione. She laughed in response and tilted her screen towards him. "You should try this one.. it's much better."

As the man searched for the movie, she studies him closely. It had been such a long time since she flirted with a man. Chris was incredibly jealous so she had been banned from engaging in harmless flirtations with any members of the opposite sex. If Chris was around, she couldn't even smile too broadly at another man without him blowing up. Harry was the only exception because Chris knew for sure she only thought of him as a brother and he was married.

But there she was on a plane to Aruba with a handsome, charming man sitting in Chris's seat and having a great time. Not the throw-your-bra-at-the-stage kind of fun, but it was pleasant and the first time she had really laughed in the past two days. She enjoyed listening to his funny anecdotes of his different travels and it helped her forget her troubles from time to time.

She and Chris were over; that was a given. She was not insane and she was determined not to be the type of girl who pined away for a man who didn't deserve her. And Ginny and Harry would probably kill her if she went back to him.

Although she still loved him. Yes, she definitely still loved the git. Hating him didn't make it easier to forget how she felt at their happiest moments or how it felt to feel his lips graze her neck. Or the things his fingers could do to her. And it annoyed her to no end that love wasn't the kind of emotion you could switch off in a split second. Her head accepted that she could never be with him again but all she had to do was wait for her heart to get its act together. But in the mean time, maybe this dashing guy sitting in her ex-fiancé's seat could help her ease the pain; help her forget about him. It had been a while since she even thought of being attracted to another man but she could see it happening with him even though the two men looked nothing alike.

She shut her eyes and let her mind wander to the most fabulous holiday she could ever envision. She saw herself in a sundress and straw hat, sitting in the passenger side of a drop-top as they rode along the sides of some tall hills. He'd smile and his pearly white teeth would gleam in the sun and mesmerized by the sparkle, she wouldn't realize that her scarf had unwound from her neck till it was floating in the air. But because it was a new scarf he had only just bought at the Fendi store across the street from the hotel, they would have to stop to chase after it.

Then they would run and run against the wind, chasing the red, silk scarf till they were spent then he'd turn her around and kiss her so thoroughly she'd forget how to spell Chris's name.

* * *

Hermione dragged her luggage as she walked alongside the man from the plane. They had just gone through Customs and were heading towards the arrivals pick up area.

"We've spent so many hours together and I still don't know your name," he said, smiling and tilting his head in such a way that she could still see the profile of his nose.

If the myth about men and their noses true, Hermione could already guess what he would look like with his pants off. It wasn't her style to zero in on guys just to seduce them but weren't people expects to have sex on their honeymoons? And after what she had been through, she needed a fling. No, she _deserved_ one.

Sex with Chris had been great on their good days but now she was determined to have the best sex of her life. In fact, she had already planned on getting online the first chance she had so she could get ideas then try the most ridiculous positions with this gentleman standing next to her.

Then when she eventually returned to London, she would be a different Hermione Granger and Chris wouldn't be the last person she slept with. The best way to get over an ex was to get a new one and the man standing next to her looked like he was willing and able.

"My name's Jean," she said seductively. As they walked, she began to formulate her story. She was Jean from London. She was an executive chef and the trip was a gift from the other employees at her restaurant.

She was about to ask him what his name was when she heard some yell, "DADDY!"

The man ran over, scooped the little girl up and twirled her around. Hermione's chest tightened as she a beautiful local woman laughing as she stood back and waited for her turn to hug the man that was most probably her husband.

Hermione's eyes moistened as she watched the scene she and Chris had planned to re-enact a few years later. They would be a team and whenever he went on a business trip, she'd wait for him with their son or daughter and when he showed up, they would hug and kiss like their time apart couldn't have been more painful.

She shook her head in disgust and looked away. Instead of starting her own family, there she was, pathetic and alone on her honeymoon, fantasizing about another woman's husband. _What and idiot._

_

* * *

AN: Thanks for reading again!  
_


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Hermione looked at her reflection in the mirror and looked away in disgust—she looked like shit. The left side of her hair was plastered against her head while the other side was scattered in every direction. One strap of her silk night gown had slid off and was hanging down her chest but luckily, the 12 hour slumber she had just awoken from had kept the eye bags at bay. Disappointed in herself, with her nightwear still on, she walked into the shower and turned on the tap.

The previous day, shortly after reviving from the shock of seeing her airplane fantasy man in the arms of another woman, she had decided to act her age and shake it off. Why should a woman who just survived from getting jilted by the love her life lose faith because she lost a man that was never hers? How dumb was that? Besides, she was sure that the island was crawling with numerous single men who would take great pleasure in making her stay memorable. And as if to prove her point, she noticed a passer by sending her appreciative glances. With the new spring in her step, she left the airport and boarded the hotel courtesy bus along with other guests.

She sat next to the window and as they drove past the green palm trees and odd-looking architecture, she assessed every man she saw, trying to figure out if they had the right look and possibly the right package to be the one and only fling of her life. By the time they arrived at the hotel, she was feeling pretty good because by her count, there were at least 30 men, including the hotel bust driver, who just might be The One.

She was still pleased as she checked in, walked into the elevator and tipped the bell man. But the minute she opened the door to the huge hotel suite and saw red rose petals strewn across the bed with champagne chilling nearby in an ice bucket, she dropped her purse, fell to her knees and lost it. Chris must have secretly arranged the surprise but apparently he didn't care enough to see it through.

She moved her head forward so that water from the shower could cover it completely. The previous day, after shaking the still soft petals off the plush king-sized bed and drinking all of the champagne, she opened her suitcase to unpack. That in and of itself was a bad move because half of the clothes she had brought had been new lingerie she knew Chris would enjoy peeling off her. Thirty minutes later, after releasing her frustration on the room, she sat at the balcony watching the sunbathing guests till she felt sleepy and went to bed.

Hermione pulled off her soaking nightgown and stoop up straight. What the hell was wrong with her? The plan was to come to Aruba and have the time of her life. How did sitting in her room feeling sorry for herself fit? She bet Chris was having the time of his life. As the cool water dripped down her body, she decided that the third time was a charm. She already wasted one day, she didn't have any more to waste. Twenty minutes later, she put on some clothes and went down for breakfast.

* * *

Draco looked at the pretty, curly haired girl sitting alone and picking at her croissant who looked oddly familiar. From what he gathered from the whispers from another table, she had checked in alone into one of the honeymoon suites and this was the first time anyone had seen her since then. He watched as she poured milk into her coffee and stirred it.

Because of his job, he couldn't help but study people so even though she was trying to act cool, he could still read the sadness on her face. It was almost like she wished she were somewhere else but at the particular time of the year, they were exactly where everyone else wished they could be. Intrigue, he wondered if he could find out more about her. Something about her curls made her seem so familiar but he couldn't place her anywhere.

As the thought shot threw his mind, he shuddered. What the hell was wrong with him? Even if she had sad eyes and a somber aura, under normal circumstances, it still wasn't enough to inspire him to reach out to a stranger. But those curls. He had seen them somewhere. He never wanted to reach out to someone till now. It was usually the other way around, people reached out to him. Yet, instead of just studying her like he did everyone else, he wanted to talk to her. He wanted know more and perhaps help him figure out where he had seen her. What was wrong with him? He looked at his half-empty mug of coffee and wondered if it was high time he did as his mother suggested and gave up caffeine because apparently, it had begun to play games with his mind. It was his mother's suggestion he come on this vacation under a glamour charm. He didn't need people swarming around him during his vacation.

_Granger_

_

* * *

_

"I'm fine," Hermione said into the room phone.

"What have you done so far?" Harry asked from the other end.

"Done, as in?" She kicked off her slippers and lay on her bed. The hotel had done a good job with breakfast; laying out the usual continental breakfast along with eggs, sausages, and some local dishes. She wasn't quite sure if it was a good or bad thing that she still hadn't regained her appetite and had been unable to really sample any of the good stuff.

"Have you gone out yet? Seen the sights? You know, that kind of thing," her friend asked worriedly.

"Oh, yeah, I've seen the sights."

"Really? What?" He replied skeptically.

Hermione sat up in the bed. "Harry, why are you grilling me?

"I'm not grilling you. I just hope you're not holed up in the room doing nothing. We didn't want you to going there alone but sine you did, try to make the best of it. Please, go out."

She looked down and played with the phone cord. It sometimes scared her how well her friends knew her. Hermione hardly thought of herself as predictable of oftentimes, Harry knew what she would do even before she knew if herself. "Harry, I'll try."

There was a long pause at the other end before her friend spoke up. "I wasn't sure if should tell you or not but Chris came by yesterday. He said that he's been looking everywhere for you. He's been calling your phone and he claims that he spent most of yesterday waiting for you at your apartment and when he didn't see you, came here."

Hermione was ashamed at how high her ears perked up on hearing that name. "What did he want?"

"He didn't say but I think he wanted to apologize. And explain things to you. But I can't be too sure. I wasn't too impressed myself because if he really wanted our forgiveness, he would have brought his parents and made a formal apology."

Hermione was about to ask something else when she decided against it. If she found out more, she would only end up fixating on it and she wasn't going to let her stay get ruined by wasting precious time wondering about that man. "Forget about him."

Harry coughed before saying, "I still wish he would have told me what he wanted. Anyway, he wasn't happy to hear you had gone to Aruba alone. I think he was worried. Hermione, I think he still loves you."

No. She didn't want to listen to any more of this. "That's his problem. Harry, stop talking about this."

"Mione, I don't even know what to say. I'm not the best person to advice you on this but I wouldn't want you to go back to him and get hurt again."

"Harry don't worry about it."

"How can I not? You're my best friend. Some things are forgivable but is this one of them? I trust you so I know you will do what's best for yourself. I won't pressure you. Whatever you choose, just know that your friends will support you."

"Thank you."

"Try to have some fun, okay? Don't think about anything and just have a great time."

* * *

Hermione showed the hotel employee the receipt she received at check-in. "Is there a group water skiing today?" she asked.

The manager smiled and said in broken English. "Yes, they are waiting for the bus. Are you signed up for the package? What's your name?"

Hermione handed over her receipt and waited for her to look it over and confirm it on her computer.

"I see you're signed up for the all inclusive honeymoon package." She had been in the business long enough to not flinch at a supposed honeymooner vacationing alone. She printed a ticket out and handed it to her. "You will need to show this to the driver."

Hermione took it from her and put it in her purse. "Thank you. What is after the water ski?"

"There will be water skiing, jet skiing, and hang gliding. We usually only go to one location a day then you can spend the rest of the day doing whatever you please. Most people like to go into town and sightsee but some others prefer to spend their time at the pool. So depending on what you want, the bus can either drop you off in town or back at the hotel. But if you choose to into town, when you're done, just call us and someone will pick you up.

Hermione had tried her best to follow what the lady was saying but she was talking too fast and with a thick accent. "Sorry. Could you repeat that?"

"She says that there'll also be hang gliding and if you want, you can go into town afterwards," a voice said from behind her with an English accent.

Both grateful and intrigues by the interruption, she spun around to face the owner of the deep, gruff voice.

"Thank you," she said.

"It was nothing. And I didn't mean to eavesdrop. I was just waiting to speak to the manager."

"There's no need to apologize. Thanks for your assistance." She pointed at the waiting group. "I'd better go ahead and join them."

About a minute later, Hermione felt the presence of someone standing behind her. She readjusted her weight on the couch's arm and looked back,

"I'll be going with you guys," the English accent stranger said, smiling with a smirk she thought looked familiar. She looked at her reflection in his eyes then turned around and observed the rest of their group. Other than the both of them, the rest of the waiting people were coupled off.

She turned back to him. "You're coming alone?" It would have been the coincidences to end all coincidences if he too had been left at the altar but from the length of his hair and creases in his clothes, he didn't look like someone who would have a steady girlfriend; more like a couple every other week.

He nodded. "Why?"

"No reason," she said quickly looking away. Why did that answer suddenly make him look so much more attractive? She hid a smile then stole another glance from him. They were on vacation so he had an excuse for the flip flops, khaki shorts and t-shirt. Even if she hadn't been with Chris for so long, he wouldn't have been that kind of man she'd have looked at once. He was good looking and did appear to have some good height on him and even though she couldn't see much else, his legs looked long and lithe. But on the other hand, he looked like the sort of man who would be satisfied with living in a shack if it meant he got to spend all day on the beach picking sea shells when he wasn't surfing. The kind of man with no real ambition. The kind of man who wouldn't know the difference between a Manet and a Monet. He was just the kind of man that was so very wrong for her. But exactly the kind of man she needed.

She looked ever at his hands to make sure he wasn't wearing a wedding ring and when she was satisfied with what she saw, she stood up straight and stretched her hand out to him. "Hi, I'm Jean." _The girl you will be sleeping with tonight._

_

* * *

_

_AN: Thanks for reading and please give me some feedback, I would like to know what you guys think so far._


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

"Do you speak French?" the better looking half of one of the couples asked.

"_Un petit peu_." Hermione replied. She didn't know French very much but she usually thought she could understand most of the French she's heard before.

"_Donc, avez-vous déjà venu ici_?" the lady asked in French.

They have been on the bus for about five minutes and according to the driver, it was a fifteen minute ride. There were about 7 couples on the minibus so although it was quite full, there was still enough space for Draco and Hermione to sit separately.

Noticing that the lady was waiting for a response, Hermione smiled and nodded. She hadn't quite understood what the lady had said so she thought nodding was a safe bet. She quickly looked away so as not to encourage her to continue the conversation but the chubby French lady didn't take the hint. It was her first time outside of France and she was so excited to talk to anyone who would listen.

**(AN: If the words are italicized, that means the characters are speaking French.)**

"_Oh really_?"she tapped her husband's knee. "_Honey, she's been here before!"_

"_Really?"_ he asked, suddenly interested in the conversation. In the years they have been married, he had learned to tune his wife out whenever she went poking her nose where it didn't belong. But this time, it looked like it had actually done some good. _"Where do you recommend we go? After today, we want to quit the tourist bullshit and live like the real locals. We want to see what the real Aruba is like. I tried talking to the concierge but he wasn't much help. Do you know any bars that are only frequented by locals? We want to eat their food, drink their homegrown brews and listen to their music. So where can we got that?"_

When Draco saw Hermione nod again, he laughed. Poor thing. With all that nodding, he hoped she didn't end up selling herself to someone.

"Jean, have you been to Aruba before?" he yelled in English.

She turned back to look at him sitting two rows back. "No. Why?"

He pointed at the couple she had been talking to. "You just told them that you've been here before and not they are asking you to recommend places to them."

"Oh," she said, turning back to look at the expectant couple. Her face had already begun to turn crimson and she wished she could shrink into the seat. "_Sorry_." She waved, incorporating sign-language. "_First time here_," she said pointing downwards. "_Sorry_."

"_Oh, it's your first time? Where do you live? And what are you doing here? Is that your husband?"_ the wife asked, pointing at Draco.

Hermione sighed. What was wrong with this lady? Couldn't she tell that she barely understood a word she was speaking? Before she could nod one more time, Draco jumped out of his seat and sat next to her.

"Why don't I interpret?" He turned to the woman. _"I'm Damien and she's Jean and no, we are not married. You?" _**(AN: Please remember that Draco has glamour charms on so no one knows he's Draco.)**

"_I'm Jacqueline and he's Pierre,"_ she said, holding her husband's hand before proceeding to tell their story. Apparently, they got married three years ago in Vegas and after Pierre had gotten a great bonus the previous year, they could finally afford to go on their honeymoon. _"What about you? What's your story?"_

Hermione shared her story about being a chef. When she was done, Draco shared his.

He looked away and sighed dramatically. _"My long term girlfriend and I had planned this vacation for months but two weeks ago, she called me from her parent's house to tell me that she didn't love me anymore and that she was getting married the next day. To my cousin! To cut a long story short, I tried to get a refund but I couldn't. So here I am," _he said sadly.

Pierre's and Jacqueline's mouths fell open and when they finally recovered from what they had just heard, they offered cliché words of comfort. From them, Draco learned that his ex was no good and that the right one would come along shortly.

When the couple turned around to face forward, Hermione asked him what he had told them. After Draco recounted the story, her face froze. "I'm so sorry," was all she could come up with.

He laughed. He couldn't remember the last time h had seen her eyes grow so big. Why were people so gullible? "You can relax your face, I made it all up."

"What?" she asked, still in a trance.

"I didn't get dumped by my ex. It's not a true story," Like anyone would ever dump me, Draco Malfoy, he thought to himself.

As soon as that sunk in, Hermione heaved a sigh of relief. "So what's the real story?" Now, she really wanted to know why he was vacation alone.

"Trust me, you don't want to know," he said dismissively. "It'll only put you to sleep."

* * *

Three couples had already gone hang gliding and it was finally her turn. She had been a little scared at first but after the looks of elation on the others' faces shortly after landing, she knew she just had to get there.

Draco came up to her from behind.

"Ask him what I should do if I feel like I'm falling."

He shook his head as he watched the guide clasp the life jacked around her. "You're completely safe; this is not even real hang gliding. Heck, it's not even paragliding."

"Meaning?"

"Meaning, you're completely safe. Look," he said, taking hold of the straps connecting her to the speed boat. "This is what will really propel you into the air and bring you down. They are in complete control the whole time so you don't have to worry about a thing."

Hermione frowned and looked away from him. Why was she already getting the friend vibe from this guy? If he was supposed to be her fling, he had to long for her and think of her in sexual terms. She had yet to catch him staring at her breasts. What could she do?

He tapped her in encouragement. "You'll do fine," he said, stepping away.

"Wait!" She suddenly got an idea. She held onto his arm and tried to look as scared as possible. "What if I fall?" Yes, it was time to play the damsel in distress. To get his loins roaring, she had to make him feel like he could protect her. After all, how many men were attracted to female body builders who could kick their asses?

Draco raised his brow. When did Granger become bipolar? Just a few minutes earlier, she had begged the French couple to give up their space on the queue so that she could go next but suddenly, she was scared.

"You won't fall."

"But what if I do?" she whispered, grabbing his shirt tighter. Draco looked down and saw that she was holding onto him so tightly that the veins on her hands were threatening to pop. Maybe she really was scared now; he remembered that back at Hogwarts she was always scared of flying.

"You'll be fine," he said as he attempted to pry her hands away. But whenever he managed to get one hand off, she held on tighter with the other one.

"Damien, please will you come up with me? I'll feel so much safer with you. I need a strong man like you to make me feel safe." Hermione blinked rapidly and swallowed hard to keep the bile from rushing up her throat. Had she really said that?

The guide looked at him with pleading eyes, begging him to concede to her. Even though the young man didn't understand a word they were speaking, anyone within a mile radius could probably correctly assess what was going on.

"Okay, put the life jacked on me too," Draco told him. They were holding things up and he could already tell that the others were anxious to get up there as well.

He stood behind her and wrapped his arms around her body. As they took off, Hermione mover her hands up and laid them on his. They felt strong and solid and as they glided in the air, with the wind blowing through her hair, she imagined what those arms would feel like as both of their bodies passionately rocked together.

* * *

"Who knew hang gliding could be so scary?" she commented as they walked towards one of the benches occupied by the other members of their group. "Now I can't wait to go jet skiing. My adrenaline is pumping!"

He laughed. He hadn't been with her for long but he had already begun to notice little things about her. Like the way the edges of her eyes crinkled when she was thrilled. When they were in the air, he had been worried by her screaming till he realized that she was loving every single minute of it. "And to think you were so scared a minute ago. What would you have done if you were facing real death?"

"I would have held on to you tighter," she said, leering at him.

Draco looked away, pretending he hadn't seen it. Was this really Hermione Granger? The bookworm? "It reminds me of the third time I went hang gliding. And I mean the real one; so I wasn't attached to a boat like this one. It was just me, my glider, and the wind."

"Wow!" Men loved their egos stroked so Hermione made sure she looked very impressed. "I don't think I can do that. I wouldn't even go if there was an expert glider with me. I'd be too scared!"

He nodded in agreement. "And if I had been as smart as you, I wouldn't have nearly died."

"What?"

He leaned towards her. "Yes, I almost died. The ride went on longer than I had planned and since the winds were really strong that day, even though I was trying to navigate myself down, I just kept gliding and gliding. So I decided to give up and just roll with it. I figured that I would eventually get down."

"Impressive. I would have died of a panic attack."

"Well I got so comfortable that I actually fell asleep. When I woke up, I found myself quickly heading towards a large rock," he said dramatically.

"Oh my god!"

"So I started hitting the hand navigator," he said animatedly, mimicking the actions, "trying my best to swerve away from the huge, brown rock but it didn't seem to be working. I pressed it and pressed it and pressed it and…"

"And?"

"Boom," he said, slamming his hand on the table for effect. "For a second, I thought I was dead but when I opened my eyes, I noticed that I was falling. I don't even remember pulling my parachute cord but according to the doctors, that's what saved me."

"Wow. You were lucky."

"Very lucky. This is the only thing I have to show for it," he said, showing her a small scar on his knee. "And the funny thing is that the doctors said that I actually died for a few seconds."

"Really?" she asked in disbelief. If he only got that baby scar, how bad could it really have been?

"Yes, I remember it. Even when you're unconscious, you still have some level of consciousness and I think that at the moment I died, everything went very still. And silent. Dark. Still. Silent. It was surreal,"

"Dark and silent?" she hissed. "Is that what we all have to look forward to? I need something more dramatic. It needs to end with a bang. At least a bright light or something. Or maybe you didn't see it because you were going to hell," she teased.

He laughed. "And to think that I didn't want to mention the bright light because I was trying to avoid cliché…"

"Cliché? What do you mean cliché?" She eyed him suspiciously. "Did you just make the whole thing up?"

He nodded. "I sure did."

* * *

Hermione had always loved seafood so she was already anticipating enjoying her meal at the restaurant the bellman had suggested. After returning from the beach, they decided to have dinner together.

"Jean, have you decided yet?" Draco asked as he watched her peruse the menu.

She shook her head. She was debating between the Shrimps Creole, which was Shrimps with some kind of Creole sauce or the grilled shark. Or maybe she could try the pan-fried barracuda. The restaurant was packed and lively and if she happened to die from barracuda poison she was sure that one of the numerous tourists was a doctor. So would it be barracuda or shark?

Since she could easily find shark in London, deciding on barracuda, she was about to shut the menu when Draco said, "If you're having difficulty deciding on what to eat, you can try the 'Keshi Yena'. I had it at another restaurant and it was really good."

Hermione looked down to read the dish's description: a soupy brew that combines Gouda cheese, spices, and the meat of your choice in a thick brown sauce.

_Great_, she thought sardonically. It was something she could probably whip up herself.

She shut the menu and handed it back to the waitress. "Keshi Yena." Damn. Stupid men and their egos. She really didn't want to eat any dame thick sauce but since she needed them to end the night on nothing but pleasant terms, it was a sacrifice she was going to have to make.

After the waitress left, he said, "So what's your favorite dish to make?"

She looked up at him. _Huh_? She caught his eye and remembered her supposed profession. "Yeah, I love to make cream pasta," she said quickly.

"Oh. Is it an Italian restaurant?"

"Yeah." She focused all her attention on the wine menu. "I think.."

"Which one?" he interrupted. "Maybe I've been there before."

"I doubt it," she said, still keeping her head down. "Have you been to Surrey before?"

"Yes, whenever I have to meet my p-," he started to say till he caught himself. "Yeah, I've been there a few times."

"Really? That's great, but I don't really want to talk about work right now. I'm on vacation to forget it all. Let's change the subject," she said smiling. "What do you have to do tomorrow?"

"I don't know yet," he replied, agreeing to let it go. Besides, from what he could see, she was still a bad lying Gryffindor and probably needed a lot more time to work on her lies.

* * *

Draco turned on his iPhone. For the first time in a long time, he had spent the day without his phone and he was surprisingly okay with it. He was shocked that he hadn't begun to get jittery like a heroin addict looking for a fix. Instead, he was calm and even refreshed. Usually he would be with it 24/7 making deals and dealing with clients but for this vacation he left everything in the hands of this vice-president.

He sat at the edge of this bed and waited for his iPhone to connect to the hotel Wi-Fi. Just as the icon pooped up to inform him that his wait was over, he heard two loud knocks at his door.

According to his table clock, it was 10:23pm and he certainly wasn't expecting anyone. Curious, he walked over to the door and opened it.

Hermione smiled and didn't let the look of shock on his face discourage her. She had taken a shower to make sure she was clean in all the right places and had applied a fresh coat of make up to make sure she looked just right. All she had done with her was towel dry it because if the media was to be believed there was nothing sexier than water dripping down a woman.

She held out the bottle of white wine to him. "I felt like a drink but didn't want to have it alone. I hope you don't mind. Have you got some glasses?" she asked, walking into his room thereby making it impossible for him to reject her.

Even though she was still wearing the t-shirt and jeans she had been wearing earlier in the day, Draco caught a whiff of lavender shower gel as she walked past him. Plus her hair was wet. So it was either that she had planned on going to bed before deciding to drink or something was up. He watched her as she sat at his desk and placed the bottle on the table.

"Let's drink this now; I don't want it to get too warm. It's the cheap stuff so you know it's better chilled." She unscrewed the top of the bottle. "See? It doesn't even need a corkscrew. Can you get some glasses?"

He raised his brow. What was the rush? His air conditioning was on full blast so it wasn't like the wine was in danger of boiling.

He turned around and walked towards the mini bar. There really was something off about her. She was always odd when they were younger but after 10 years there was something else. During the day, she had been detached but friendly; saying a lot without really revealing much about herself but suddenly, at night, she was sitting in his room with a bottle of alcohol in her hand. But on the other hand, if he really thought about it, there had been some moments he wondered if she had been flirting with him. He knew when a woman was interested in him but this one was just weird. She was giving far too many conflicting signals and this was Hermione Granger for crying out loud.

The sudden sound of the chair scraping against the floor interrupted his thoughts and when he reacted by turning around, he caught her standing up and taking off her blouse.

His eyes widened in surprise. Okay, that was one hell of a clear signal.

He was still in shock, his feet rooted to the ground when she threw her top on the plush, brown carpet and walked towards him. Then she reached behind and unhooked her bra. As the black lace fell to the floor, revealing her breasts, she said, "Let's have sex."

* * *

_AN: Thanks for reading and thank you for the reviews. I hope you like this chapter. Also I have another story called A Year and A Day I hope you guys check it out. _


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

_Let's have sex? _Had he heard right? Was Hermione Granger really wanting to have sex with him? He wondered. But considering that she was now in the process of unbuttoning her jeans, maybe he had. In his life, he had his share of pushy, horny or gold-digging women but even they weren't this shameless. What was with her now? If he were married or in a relationship, he might have thought that it was a set up or some kind of test his wife had concocted to reassure herself of his faithfulness. But what was this?

He watched her pull down her pants and sucked his breath in. With a body like that, there was no way she was underage so he doubted it was some kind of blackmail scheme. What was wrong with her? She was obviously depressed so had she just discovered that she had AIDS and was trying to seek revenge against the world by taking as many people with her? No matter what the true scenario was, this was Hermione Granger and he wanted no part of it.

She was reaching for her knickers when he stepped back, grabbed the shirt that been hanging over his chair and threw it at her. "Cover yourself up," he ordered, looking away from her.

_What the hell am I doing_? Hermione asked herself. It was like a scene from a really bad porn flick and she couldn't believe she had actually stooped so low. But it will be all worth it in the end—she just had to push harder. She let his shirt fall to the ground then moved closer to him. "Don't you find me attractive?" She purred. She licked her lips seductively and smiled at him making sure he could see the twinkle in her eye.

He looked from her full breasts to her flat stomach down to the thong that was the only pieces of clothing she still had on. If only he was made of steel. In a different time and place and if he weren't Draco Malfoy and she wasn't Hermione Granger, he wouldn't have minded having those slim legs wrapped around him. But not today; not like this. "No. I don't find you attractive. Just put your clothes back on and leave."

"Really?" she smirked. "I think you do find me attractive," she said, training her eyes on the rapidly increasing bulge in his pants. She took two steps closer and reached for the top of his pants. Before he could push her hands off, she was on her knees.

* * *

Hermione struggled to keep the bile from rising up. She had never been so disgusted with herself. Men were easy creatures and it wasn't difficult to get Damien to change his mind but now that they were about to have sex, she wanted to throw up.

She didn't even know what was wrong with him. Since they were strangers, why was he wasting time with all the foreplay? They had been lying on the bed for about ten minutes and he was still trailing kisses all over her body. Couldn't he tell that every time she felt his spit on her body, she wanted to hurl? She should have been turned on, she should have been excited to finally be able to have the fling she had been dreaming of. After all, underneath those clothes, he did have an impressive body—and she just wasn't just talking about his abs—so why couldn't she be more excited about this?

She already knew it was going to be the worst sexual experience of her life because even though they said that sex was half mental, her body wasn't even complying with the other half. She wasn't aroused, moist, wasn't turned on in any way but regardless, she was still going to do it. She _had_ to.

He moved up and kissed her neck while caressing her thighs. Then he moved up even higher to kiss her mouth.

"Can you just get on with it?" she whispered. As soon as the words escaped her lips, a tear escaped her eye.

* * *

Crying? She was crying? Draco rolled off her and onto the other half of the bed. "Why are you crying? Wasn't this your idea?"

Panicked, Hermione quickly wiped her cheek and climbed on top of him. "No. I'm fine. Where's the condom? Let's do this," she said, her voice getting shakier with every passing word. She found the pack of condoms on the nightstand and took one. She was going to do this even if it killed her.

Unwrapping condoms was something that she could do in her sleep but for some reason, the more she tried to tear the condom wrapper open, the more her hand shook. Every time she caught hold of the corner, it would slip out of her hand. She even tried to tear it open with her teeth but with no luck. What kind of adhesive had they used on it?

Draco felt an overwhelming sadness as he watched her struggling with the wrapper. He had never seen anyone look so clumsy. Why was Granger acting like this? What she an old virgin determined to finally lose her virginity? Is that what it was all about? He reached across and covered her hands with his. "Stop this, Jean."

She looked up at him with teary eyes. "What do you mean? I'm almost there. I'll soon open it."

He gently pushed her off him. "Let's forget it. We can do this another time."

"No. Let's do it now," she said, not bothering to hide her desperation.

He moved his legs off the bed and sat on the edge. "No. How about another time?"

"Please." She could barely see him as her eyes had become cloudy with moisture. "Please."

He looked over at her and watched her collapse onto the bed in sobs.

* * *

"Gone?" she asked the lady, pointing at the empty lobby.

"Yes. Miss. They've already left for the day but if you'd like to into town, I'll gladly get a driver for you."

Hermione thanked her and turned around. It only made sense that she had missed the bus after all; the day had started off shitty. After waking up in a strange bed to find a slightly less strange man, sleeping next to her, she slowly remembered happenings of the previous night and like a jet, flew back to her room.

After sleeping a bit longer, she woke up to discover that she had missed breakfast and the kitchen was closed at the time. She grabbed three apples from the fruit bowl at the lobby and walked towards the elevators.

Her stomach growled with hunger so she wiped one of the apples against her shorts then bit into it. Her mind was intent on traveling to what had happened the previous night but she was fighting it because she knew that if she really thought about it, it meant that she would never again be able to look at herself in the mirror.

She was still waiting for the elevator when she heard footsteps. She turned to look and her body stiffened when she saw who it was. _Shit_.

"You missed breakfast too?" Draco asked.

"Hmm," she said, not looking at him. Her body was on the verge of turning bright red and she hit the elevator call button repeatedly, hoping that would somehow make on arrive quicker.

In all his life, Draco had never seen a woman fidget so much. At least, not one that he had seen naked. Not that last night had been one of his shining moments. He was the Slytherin Sex God and never once had a complaint. It was his policy to try to pleasure the woman as much as he could, while pleasuring himself. But with her, he had never in his life been with someone so unresponsive yet so desperate. Sure this was Granger but he had perfected the skill in touching women in certain places that he was sure would make them moan but apparently, she was immune to his skills. It had almost been like trying to have sex with a block of wood and it was such a turn off that he had constantly struggled to retain his hardness. But seeing that tear drop from her eye like poking a balloon with a needle; he have never deflated so quickly.

But yet, as he saw her wringing her hands in nervousness, he couldn't help but feel pity for her. His brain was telling him to run as far away as possible yet his lips said, "this lift is talking a long time to arrive, don't you think?"

As she stood there, trying to ignore his presence, she had been silently praying for the ground to swallow her up. But now he was talking to her? She took a deep breath and said, "Yes."

"Maybe there's something wrong with it."

"Hmm."

After a few more excruciatingly awkward seconds, the elevator finally arrived. They both walked in and hit the buttons for their respective floors and waited for the doors to close.

"You missed today's outing too?"

She nodded.

"Did you sleep well?" He asked just as the elevator doors shut.

Her heart sank the moment the lift started to move up. Not only was he still talking to her, he just _had_ to refer to their previous night. More embarrassed than she had ever imagined, she waited for a few beats then said, "About last night; I'm sorry. I don't know—"

"Forget about it," he interrupted, smiling at her. He didn't exactly want to spend time thinking about it, either. "What are you doing today?"

"Ehm, sorry?"

"Since you couldn't go out with the group, are you going into town?"

She shook her head and kept her eyes trained at the elevator doors.

"It looks like we are at my floor," he said as the elevator halted to a stop. As soon as the doors parted open, he put his foot out to act as a barricade then turned to her. "Since we've been left alone, we can hang out together. Meet me in the lobby in thirty minutes and," he said, looking at her feet, "change your shoes."

Hermione was still in shock as he walked out of the elevator and towards his room.

* * *

Hermione held onto Draco as he helped her up that last rock. She had initially decided against meeting him but ten minutes after their scheduled time, curiosity got the best of her so she went to the lobby and found him waiting for her. She really didn't know why he was still being nice to her but she chucked it up to him being just as lonely as she was not wanting to be alone. Besides, why think about it so much? It was just a vacation and they would be parting ways soon enough.

Over an hour later, she was on top of a mountain. Throughout their ride, he had been friendly and personable and that, coupled with what had happened the previous night, she was sure he couldn't possibly have any sexual interest in her, which was good because she was sweating and probably looked like a pig.

She wiped off some sweat with the back of her hand then turned to him. "What is this again?"

"You might have seen the sign when we were driving here. It's Arikok National Park. I didn't pick any of the tourist locations so we should be alone."

He put down his backpack and sat on a smooth rock. Then she staggered forward and did the same. "If I had known that you were taking me hiking, I would have stayed in my room."

He unzipped his back pack, pulled out two plastic bottles of apple juice and handed one to her. "It's good exercise. I usually like to go hiking when I have a lot on my mind or I just need to think. Something about the serenity, crisp air and coolness has a way of clearing your mind."

"I see."

"I hope it works for you too," he said, sending her a knowing look.

Hermione took a sip of the now warm apple juice and stood up. She walked over to the grassy area and towards a steep edge. "What's the name of the ocean?" she asked, pointing to a water body a few hundred feet below.

He stood up and walked up to her. "I don't think it's an ocean—I believe it's a river."

"Okay, what's the name of the river?"

"It's called Intotok. Local lure claims that hundreds of years ago, when a native girl called Intotok came to take her bath on the banks of the river, she met a lost sea god. She was very beautiful with her eyes, body, hair, you know how it goes."

"Sure."

"Anyway, before long, they fell in love and the sea god no longer and any interest in returning to his homeland. On the day he planned to propose to her, he waited and waited and waited for her to show up but she never did. It turned out that she had been forced into a marriage with the village chief. The sea god, as you can imagine, was devastated. The story is that on very stormy nights, you can hear the wind whistling, 'Intotok, Intotok,' as the sea god searches for his long lost love. In fact, sometimes, when the waves crash against the banks of the river, you can still hear him calling her name," he said dramatically.

"Really?"

He nodded. "Yeah."

"The water crashes and makes a 'tok-tok' sound? Not like a 'whoosh-whoosh' sound?"

He thought about it. "You think Inwooshwoosh would sound more believable?"

"Yeah," she said, watching as a wave crashed against the side of the rock.

He nodded. "Cool. I'll use that one next time."

She gave him a side long glance. "Next time? You made it up again?" She shook her head. "Are you like some kind of pathological liar?"

He immediately adopted an innocent look. "If I say no, will you believe me?"

For some reason, that made her burst out laughing.

* * *

_AN: Thanks for the review and thanks again for reading! Please review!_


	8. Chapter 8

_AN: Sorry for the wait! I wanted to get out a few chapter for my other story!_

_So for your wait I have made this chapter extra long with a steamy smuty part!_

_Enjoy!_

* * *

Chapter 8

Hermione took the binoculars from Damien and watched as a bird sped up to catch up with its school. They had been lying on the grass for about thirty minutes and she loved every single minute of it. Damien had been right—there was something about standing on top of the world that made everything look so insignificant. She had been dumped—so what? Life still went on. The grass still grew, the winds still blew and even the little birds flying above her still went about their business. So why not her? She felt a weird sensation on her leg and when she investigated it, saw an ant crawling on her. She chuckled. Heck, even the ant was doing its thing, not caring about her problems, she thought as she flicked it off her.

"Feeling better?" Draco asked. They hadn't spoken for a while but he could already sense a change in her.

She nodded. "Yes, thank you. This was a good idea." She shut her eyes and breathed in the cool air.

"So what's your story?" He sat up and looked down at her. "I know the whole chef tale is bogus."

"You do?" She replied, still lying down and looking into the exceptionally clear sky. She wouldn't have minded dying if that view was the last think she got to see.

"Yes. It's pretty obvious you're lying. So what's the deal? Why are you here alone?"

She sighed. "I guess I came to find myself."

"Meaning?"

"Meaning that I came to find myself." After a moment of silence she said, "How old are you?"

"Talk about changing the topic." He lied back down beside her. "Why do you ask?"

"I'm just curious. How old are you?"

"Twenty-nine."

She tossed the figure around in her mind. She had not been too far off although she had expected him to be a few years younger. "And why are you here alone?"

"I just worked on two projects back to back and apparently, I needed a well deserved break. I'll be starting on a new one the second I return to London." He ran his fingers through some wisps of grass. "In fact, I had planned this as a working holiday so I should have started by now."

She looked at him from the corner of her eye. "Really?" A working holiday? "What do you do?"

He cleared his throat. "Aren't you a little too curious for someone who refuses to share anything about herself?"

"Okay." She rolled to her side to reach for her packet of chips. "Be like that," she said as she rolled back on to her back. "If you don't want to tell me, then I don't have to know." A cool breeze passed, blowing her hair onto her face. "But I must say that it was a good idea coming here—it is exactly what I needed."

"I figured. It's something I've been doing for almost all my adult life."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah. We didn't have a lot of money growing up so when I was hungry, I used to go up to a little hill not too far from our house and just lie and breathe in the fresh air. Lying there, listening to all the sounds of nature, I would come up with all these little stories about why the wind was blowing the tree in this direction or what the queen ant was thinking as she walked home and in the end, I'd get so involved in my fantasies that I would forget about my hunger."

"Really?"

"Yeah. But it's funny because one day, I just walked a little further than I normally did and came across some wild berries so I guess that was another reason to go up there when I was hungry." He chuckled. "But now, even though I have some money, I still love hiking up hills to clear my mind. I guess it still gets all my juices flowing."

Hermione felt a little sad listening to his tale. Then she scrunched her nose. "Hey are you making stuff up again? Hiking to forget her hunger?" She scoffed.

Draco smirked but didn't say anything.

* * *

"What are you scared of?" Hermione yelled from the lagoon. After snorkeling, the group had changed venue and were now swimming with dolphins. Almost everyone but an American couple and Draco were in the water. It was barely a full day since their hike and now that she no longer cared about having a fling, she was having a great time. Even though she sometimes found her mind wandering over to her dashed wedding plans, she would look around and after drinking in the beauty that was Aruba, she would quickly shake it out of her mine. "Can't you see those kids in the water?" She said, pointing at another group at their location. "If primary school students can get in, why not you?"

Logically, he realized that dolphins were peaceful, loving animals but what if one of them decided to go nuts and attack everyone? Even if it was only a minute chance, he had no intentions of testing fate. Besides, what's so special about swimming with overgrown fish?

A dolphin swam up to Hermione and poked her in the cheek. She smiled and stroked its head. "Aren't you ashamed of yourself? This is like the cutest thing. Can't you see its face?" She kissed it then swam under to stroke its belly.

When she swam up, she noticed that Damien was sitting down looking bored. She was very grateful for the role he had played in helping her get back to her normal self and wanted him to have as much fun as she was. Even if he didn't swim with the dolphins, he could still enjoy the cool water.

She waved at the French couple who were laughing and watching their friends swim. "Hello? Hello?" she yelled in an attempt to catch their attention.

Almost everyone looked at her but after gesturing enough times, the couple figured out that she was talking to them. "Excuse me?" the wife said.

She smiled and pointed at Damien. "Push!"

Draco stood up and walked towards the edge of the lagoon. "What are you doing?"

She ignored him and kept yelling at the couple to push him in till they understood what she meant and did just that.

* * *

"Wow, you really look quite gorgeous," Draco commented as they walked towards the elevators.

"And so do you."

He had suggested that they visit an upscale club a friend of his had recommended so she had slipped into a black strapless slip dress that hugged her in all the right places and didn't in the wrong. She had dubbed if her 'come fuck me dress' when she had seen it in the store, purchasing it solely to drive Chris crazy. But since he had readily passed up on the opportunity, she didn't see a reason to let it go to waste. She had left her hair to fall freely on her back and had expertly applied her make up to emphasize her eyes and softly highlight her lips. She felt and looked good and was planning on having the time of her life. It was her last day in Aruba and she was going to end her vacation with a bang.

Draco, for his part, also looked pretty great as well. He was wearing black slacks, a dark grey shirt and a black sports jacket. She had to admit that he cleaned up pretty well.

"We're probably going to be the best looking couple there," she joked as they waited for the elevators to arrive.

"I'm quite sure we will," he replied, trying his best not to look at her ass. How come she hadn't looked that good a few days ago? Or even years ago?

* * *

"I want to do that," Hermione said, watching a few Salsa dancers teach some of the guests some steps.

He shook his head. "No, let's leave the experts to that."

"How can we come to a Salsa bar and not dance? It makes no sense."

They had just left the restaurant section having spent almost two hours eating and were now at a table nursing some drinks. It had been a pleasant evening and even though they still hadn't shared much about their personal lives, there hadn't been an awkward moment.

"That guy has a cute butt, doesn't he?" she asked, looking at the lead dancer's ass. It was round and pert and she wondered what would happen if she threw a quarter at it.

Draco didn't bother looking. "I wouldn't know."

She rolled her eyes. "You mean to say that just because you're a guy, you can't tell when another guy's ass is cute?"

He raised his brow. "Where are you going with this?"

She laughed. "Don't mind me," she said as she watched the dancer's cheeks move with every step he made.

Draco observed her as she smiled, noticing the slight dimple that appeared whenever she made half smiles. Was it wrong that he now kind of liked her? Would it be wrong to want to keep in touch with her after their vacation ended? "So what are we doing tomorrow?"

Hermione darted her eyes to him then quickly looked back at the dance floor. "Whatever the group is doing, I suppose. " She still hadn't told him that it was her last night.

"We've already been hang gliding, snorkeling, even sailing. Maybe we should do our own thing tomorrow."

"Okay. Hey," she said, standing up. She grabbed his hand and tugged it. "Let's go and dance."

* * *

"Left, left, right, right," Hermione murmured, trying to remember the steps.

"Actually, I think it's: Left, left, left, right, right." He did the steps to the beat.

The dance lessons had ended and now, everyone was just trying to dance to the music. They were holding hands and doing their best to move like the dancers they had watched only a few minutes earlier.

"This sucks," Hermione said, resting her legs. "How come I can't remember anything? You saw me doing it with the instructor, didn't you? I was getting it, wasn't i?"

Draco nodded. He was far too amused at how frustrated she was getting. It reminded him of when they were in school and she was brewing a potion that wasn't working properly. "Forget about the steps. How about we just do whatever?"

"Yeah," she said, dropping his hand. It wasn't like she had any other choices, anyway. Then she put both of her palms on his chest and beat it repeatedly. "Feel the rhythm! Feel the rhythm!" She chanted.

Draco grabbed her hands to stop them then looked at her incredulously. "What the hell are you doing?"

She pushed her head back and laughed boisterously. "Don't mind me. It's from a movie. Pase doble!" She yelled before stomping her foot. Then she laughed some more. "Okay, okay, let me be a bit more serious here." She stepped back and swayed her hips. "What do you think? Does it look authentic?" She put one arm up and rotated her hand in a salsa stance.

He nodded. "Looks good enough to me." Her pose only served to emphasize her curves more.

"Good." She put one hand on his shoulder and whined her waist to the beat of the song. Draco moved in sync and they spent the next few hours drinking, dancing, and , laughing at each other's dance moves.

* * *

"Oh my God I had such a good time!" Hermione exclaimed as they walked to her room. She held up the bottle of wine they had won as the 'Most Improved Couple' and smiled at him. "Feel like a glass?"

Even though it was pretty late as they had stayed at the bar till closing, he really wasn't ready to leave her yet. "Just a little glass."

She nodded and opened her hotel room door.

Ten minutes later, they were sitting in her room having their second glass of wine.

Hermione put her half empty glass on the nightstand and ran her hand through her hair. "Aruba is great. I have to come back again sometime. I feel there's still a lot of stuff left for me to see."

He laughed at how alive and content she looked. "You've certainly changed. You look nothing like you did the first time I saw you having breakfast alone."

She shook her head as she pulled her hair into a ponytail. "Yes, it was awful but let's not talk about it, aye?"

He chuckled. "I won't," he said as he sipped some wine. She really looked when she damn cute when she wasn't trying to.

Ten minutes later, the bottle was empty and it was time for him to leave. Hermione walked him to the door and when he reached over for the door handle, she stretched her arm out to give him a half-hug. "Thanks for today. I had such a great time." She was feeling refreshed and ready to return to her life.

"Me too," he said, returning the hug and holding her lightly as she gave him a light kiss on the cheek.

When they were done, with the imprint of the minor skin contact still on his mind, he reached down and dropped a kiss on her cheek. "Good night."

She smiled and after about five seconds of staring into his eyes, reached up and gave him another kiss on the cheek. "Sweet dreams."

Then their eyes met and after reading what the other was thinking, so did their lips.

Before either even knew what was happening, Hermione's arms were around his neck with Draco's fingers in her hair and the other hand lightly running down her spine as they kissed with increasing urgency. Kissing him was nice but strange. He didn't appear to have Chris's fetish for her lower lip so I had been so long since she had really kissed anyone without feeling little bites. He kissed her deeper and she returned in kind, pressing her lips against his as her tongue rolled over his.

As they moved further into the room, her hands traveled to his body and relieved him of his coat. Then her fingers went to work on his buttons, opening his shirt so that she could run her fingers over his bare chest. He liked the feel of her soft fingers on his skin so he took his hand off her for a brief moment to rid himself completely of his shirt. Then almost as quickly, his hands were back on her, exploring the small of her back through the sheer fabric.

They walked and kissed hard, barely stopping to breathe and as his tongue swirled in her mouth, they collapsed on the bed with his body on hers.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" he asked, breaking away for a second.

Without bothering to respond, Hermione reached up and kissed him again. Who had time to talk? She was enjoying herself far too much. She reached behind him, her nails digging into his flesh till she found the waist of his pants. They kissed again for a few more minutes, their bodies pressed firmly together till her broke from her lips and let his tongue and lips travel down her face to her chin then from her chin to her neck. Her neck was one of her sensitive spots so she let out a soft moan as he teased it. Pleased with her response, he tasted and kissed her skin, journeying from her neck and inching down her shoulder, pushing down her dress in the process.

Hermione waited to be undressed. The fabric fell off her easily and exposed her beautiful breasts. Draco stared at her chest mesmerized by her beauty. Her nipples were a light brown color and hard.

Draco bowed his head to kiss her neck once more. His hands ran up and down her back. Hermione closed her eyes for moment enjoying the sweet seduction. She could feel his lips traveling slowly from her neck down to her chest. His warm breath caressed her skin with each kiss. Finally, she gasped as she felt his lips get a hold of one of her sensitive nipples. He sucked on it and gently bit it. Hermione couldn't help but moan. His mouth felt so incredible teasing her breasts.

Draco took turns on each breast. He savored the taste of her skin. His tongue flicked each nipple fast. He ran his hand down from her breasts to her stomach, further down to her tights. He could sense the heat between her legs.

Before Draco could do anything else, Hermione stopped him. She got up and let the rest of her dress fall off her. Draco gazed at her naked body. She looked like and angel sent from heaven. Hermione slowly got on her knees. She moved towards him sliding between his legs. Draco's heart raced. Hermione put her hand between his legs feelings his hardness throbbing.

Hermione unzipped his pants reaching inside his boxers, grabbing his hard member and sliding it out. She was enthralled by his size. Draco watched her stare at his hard cock for a moment. Her eyes glowed like a shimmering star as she looked at it. She then met her eyes with his and began to put it in her mouth.

Draco's body shuddered a bit at first. The sensation of her mouth wrapped around his hardness was so unbelievable. Her lips, which were painted light pink, glided up and down his long shaft. Her saliva coated his cock nicely.

"Oh my god!" Draco cried out. He ran his fingers through her silky hair and enjoyed the feeling of her mouth.

Hermione began to taste his salty juices with each stroke of her mouth. He was so delicious, just like she had imagined he would be from the first time she had seen him. His cock throbbed and twitched in her mouth. She took him deeper in her mouth and her hands moved inside his boxers to touch his balls. His balls felt so heavy and full of cum. Her hands gently squeezed on them making Draco grunt louder.

She moved her mouth faster on his hard member, adding more pressure on it with her lips. His moans and grunts filled the room along with the smacking of her lips on his cock. Draco put his hands on her face and pulled her back gently.

"I'm not ready to cum yet. I need you taste you."

Hermione smiled and kissed Draco deeply. He laid her on the bed with her legs spread wide. He stared at her beautiful pussy, which was shaved cleaned and hairless. He put his fingers on her lips spreading them slowly until her was able to see her wet, swollen clit. He brushed it lightly with his finger and she moaned and squirmed on the bed.

"Ahh yes! Touch me more!" She begged.

He then slid his finger down and spread her more until he got a good view of her tiny hole. Hermione continued moaning and Draco leaned down to put his head between her legs. He held her legs wide open and dipped his tongue inside of her tiny opening. Hermione's body rose up from the bed slightly while her Draco's tongue explored her.

"Mmmmm yes! Taste me!" she cooed.

Draco had his tongue buried inside of her, tasting her warm wet honey. He licked the walls of her pussy and dipped his tongue in and out, teasing her. Her opening was clamped tightly around his tongue making it somewhat difficult to fuck her with his tongue. He moved his long tongue up to her throbbing clit. He began to flick it fast feeling her little body moving as she tried to remain still. He teased her clit with his tongue at first, then with his lips. He put her pink clit in between his lips and sucked on it hard.

"Oooh!" She screamed.

He kept it her feeling her intensity building up more each second. He reached up taking turns squeezing her breasts. He could feel the hardness of her nipples in his hands. She was struggling to keep still but it was impossible. Hermione had to admit she never had experienced something this erotic before. It was never this hot with Chris. Draco's mouth felt so warm. He kept sucking on her clit harder until she felt her entire body explode.

"Mmmgghhh!" She moaned loudly.

Her body tightened as she reached her climax. She moved her head from side to side and screamed loudly in pleasure. Draco could taste her warm juices as they oozed out like honey. He waited until she was completely finished and then moved up to kiss her. They kissed passionately sharing her taste.

"That was so incredible!" Hermione muttered.

He stood up and took off his boxers and pants completely leaving him completely nude.

Hermione smiled and watched Draco get on top of her. His body was strong compared to her little petite frame. He grabbed her legs and wrapped them around her waist. He began to trail kissed up her body starting from her stomach all the way up back to her lips.

"Get inside of me," she begged.

Draco moved back a bit and aimed his cock to her tight little treasure. He dipped the head of his cock in first getting a sample of her warmth. Hermione squealed having her Draco's cock begin to invade her tight little opening. He rubbed her clit with his finger keeping her wet and slowly slid more of this cock in her until he was finally fully buried inside of her.

"Oh my god!" She moaned.

He began to move slowly in and out of her letting her get used to his size. She began to touch her own breasts, pinching and pulling on her sensitive nipples. He felt incredible inside of her, opening her up.

"You are so wet and so tight!" Draco groaned breathlessly.

"Move faster in me. You feel so wonderful!" Hermione wailed.

Draco was now thrusting his hips and ramming his cock in and out of her. He loved watching her touch her own breasts and how she smiled up at him and moaned for him. Her legs were still wrapped very tightly around his waist. He stopped for a moment and smiled.

She looked up at him aching for more of his cock. "What's wrong?"

He shook his head. "Nothing, I want you to take over," he rasped.

She looked puzzle but then he put his hands under her buttocks and picked her up with ease. She shrieked and laughed. Draco managed to keep his cock in her and he fell back on the bed. She was on his cock and felt it throbbing inside of her.

"Now just move your beautiful body up and down on it," Draco ordered.

Hermione moved her hips and slowly her pussy moved up and down his long shaft. "Oohh!" She moaned as she picked up the rhythm of fucking his cock. Draco reached up putting his hands on her breasts and holding them while she moved her little body up and down his aching cock.

"Like that, yes!" Draco groaned. Her nipples were pert and her entire body began to tighten up.

"Damien! I'm going to c—cum!" She screamed out.

Draco felt her being to tremble and her lower lip quivered. Her eyes closed and fluttered while soft sexy moans escaped her mouth. Her pussy squeezed his cock hard and she stayed still for a moment. Draco was close. He held her hips and began thrusting his hips up and down continuing to fuck her.

"I'm going to burst!" He growled.

Hermione opened her eyes and leaned down to kiss his lips. Their kiss was intense and very sloppy. Draco's toes curled feeling hot jets of cum shooting out from his cock and into Hermione. He moaned into her kiss and kept cumming so hard. Hermione whimpered in delight feeling his long ropes of warm cum exploding inside of her.

She broke their kiss and watched his eyes get small. She remained on top of him until he became soft again. She lay on his chest and closed her eyes for a moment taking a picture of this beautiful moment in her mind.

* * *

Draco had been fast asleep till he was awoken by strange voices.

"Sir. Sir."

He opened his eyes to see two cleaning ladies looking down at him. They were looking at him strangely and when he looked down and saw that the white sheet on him was barely doing its job, he quickly figured out why. He reached down, strategically placed the sheet on himself then turned back to them. "May I help you?"

"It's time for us to clean," the younger one said impatiently.

Granted, they hadn't put out a 'Do Not Disturb' sign but couldn't these women clearly see that they weren't supposed to be disturbed? He smiled as the events of the previous night slowly came to him but when his eyes swept the room, not only was it clear that Hermione wasn't lying next to him, the open suitcase he had seen the previous night was no longer by the desk chair nor was her denim jacket still hanging in the closet. After taking a careful look around the room, he saw nothing that looked like it wasn't owned by the hotel.

"Where's she? Where's _Hermione_?" he asked the maids stupidly. He felt his anger rise as the situation became clear.

"Sir, this room has already been checked out and because it's already past noon, we have to clean it for the next guest. If you're not paying for an extra night, you need to leave now."

* * *

_AN2: I really hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! I sure did when I was writing it._

_Well thanks for reading and **PLEASE REVIEW!**! I would like to know what you think or if you have any questions!_


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

"Welcome Home," the Customs Officer said as he stamped Hermione's passport.

"Thank you," she replied, grinning as she retrieved it form him then stepped out of the line. It had been a wild week but she could honestly say she returned a different woman. It was just sex and he was just a guy but still it was something she would have never done in London. She already knew that it was a secret she was going to carry to her grave and it felt nice to have done something no one would ever expect. And if she ever got back with Chris, it was something she would never admit to. Maybe she would consider it her own private revenge for what he had done to her.

She felt a twinge of guilt as she joined the line of people lugging their luggage and heading out of the airport. She had contemplated leaving a note for Damien before leaving her hotel room but had decided against it because it made her feel a little cheap. Even if the sex was their first, it was mind blowing. It wasn't the type of sex you write about in a letter to your mother.

She walked through the door into the arrivals section and thirty seconds later, she heard someone call her name. She followed the direction of the sound then grinned widely when she saw her friends waving at her. From the way they were screaming and jumping, she was sure at least one passerby would mistake her for a celebrity. She lifted her bag and ran towards them. Then she dropped her bag and reached across the barricade between her and her friends. "I've missed you guys so much!" She said, hugging whoever was closest to her, which happened to be Ginny.

Ginny hugged her back and sighed in relief. Even though she didn't show it, it had been the worst week of her life. She had tried to convince herself not to worry because she trusted her friend to take care of herself but Hermione had never been gone by herself even after all the hardships she went through. "You're looking really well."

Hermione separated from her then smile at her. She hugged her one more time then went along to hug everyone else.

"Do you plan to come over to this side at some point?" Harry asked, pointing at the barricade. "If we don't leave soon, I think they might tow my car."

"Stop trying to act so tough. I'm sure you've been crying because of how much you missed me." Hermione didn't get to hear his response because he was interrupted by the sound of someone else calling her name.

* * *

Hermione, along with the rest of her friends turned in the direction of the voice. It was a no-brainer that he would know when her flight was arriving, after all, she hadn't changed the itinerary. But she still hadn't expected to see him so soon.

"Hey," he said as his voice trailed off. He knew he had done a cruel thing so he braced himself for some unpleasantness of a hex or two. So he sighed in relief when all she did was hiss, turn around and walk away. If it didn't get any worse than that, he knew he would get her back in no time.

Chris dashed through the throng of people to catch up with her. Yes, he had been silly and even though they had been together for so long, he had known that he wasn't ready to get married and that had no bearing on how he felt about her. He was _still_ in love with her.

After being together for three years, she had begun to hint about their future together and when he couldn't come up with any real reason why they shouldn't get married, he proposed. He didn't want to make any excuses but the truth was he had succumbed to the pressure. It she wasn't hinting about it, his parents were asking him directly, warning that they didn't want any of their grandchildren born out of wedlock or even less than nine months after their parents' wedding.

Throughout their engagement, he had tried to be enthused about the wedding, attempting to psyche himself out of this fear but at the last minute, when push came to shove, he couldn't go through with it. He should never have proposed and he regretted that he hadn't been smart enough to do something before it got too late.

He had spent the past week hating himself, wishing that he were a different man but what could he really do? It wasn't like he could undo the past. All he needed to do was remind her that they were still love so that she wouldn't leave him. She had her fun in Aruba and now it was time for them to get back together.

"I should have called you," he said, catching up with her and grabbing onto her hand. "I'm so sorry. I should have called you."

Hermione looked at his hand like it was the most disgusting thing she had ever seen. "Take that off me!" For some reason, seeing him apologize the way he normally did made her blood boil. Surely, this required more than a freaking 'sorry' didn't it?

"Hermione, please, don't do this. I still love you. Please listen to me. I love you."

She knew that she couldn't care what he said but she did anyway. She folded her arms and turned to him. "Really?"

"Get the fuck out of here!" Harry said from behind her.

Hermione looked around and saw her friends looking back at them. Her heart was beating in anticipation and her head was spinning with a thousand emotions so for a split second, she had forgotten that they weren't alone.

"Hermi—"

"Are you fucking deaf?" Harry snarled. "Get the hell out of here. No one wants to see you."

Hermione turned to him and shook her head. She was touched by his reaction to the scene unfolding but she really wanted to hear what Chris had to say. "Let him speak."

Encouraged, Chris took her hand. And as hard as she tried, she couldn't shake the warmth that came with experiencing the familiarity of his skin on hers. "What?" she wanted to be dramatic and shake his hand off but she just didn't have it in her. The truth was that she still loved him.

"I'm sorry."

She stared at him, waiting for him to say something more but he didn't. Instead, he just looked apologetically at her. Disgusted that he wasn't putting more of an effort into his apology, she slapped his hand off hers. How could he believe that was all it took to tame her anger? "Is that all you have to say?" She asked, not bothering to hide her venom.

He shook his head vehemently. "Of course not. Let's got somewhere else. What can I say with all your friends glaring at me?"

"You care about that? You surely didn't think of the hundreds if eyes that would stare at me after you left me at the altar! If you have anything else to say, say it now or just forget about it!"

He sighed and looked down. How could he convince her with her cheerleaders listening to every word? He fell to his knees and bowed his head. "Please forgive me. I love you and I miss you. This past week has been hell. Please forgive me."

Hermione felt some of the ice she had in her heart melt slowly. "What do you want me to forgive for?"

"For being so thoughtless. For being so cruel. I just felt overwhelmed that all I could do was run. I still love you, Hermione. I will always love you. You know you own my heart, right? There's no one else for me. You're it."

She smiled despite herself. "But you don't want to marry me?"

"Of course I do," he said, hoping that if they did get married in the future, he would be ready by then. And even if he wasn't, he would get married anyway. He couldn't repeat this mistake. He didn't want to lose her. "Let's plan another wedding. Maybe something a lot smaller. Just you and me and some of our family and friends."

"I won't be there," Lavender interjected. It annoyed her to see her friend yield so easily to that asshole. What the hell? Couldn't she tell that he was manipulative git using sweet words to con his way out of facing the consequences of his actions?

"Neither would I," Harry said. The pretty much the rest of her cheerleading squad relayed similar sentiments. Hermione looked over at her best friends.

She turned back to Chris. "Let me just go home now. We can talk again later."

* * *

Hermione walked into her flat, slammed the door behind her, dropped her luggage by the door then threw her keys into the key drawer. It sure felt nice to be back. It was obvious that Ginny had been to place because all the stuff she had left in the hotel room was placed neatly by the dining table. She was about to bend down to pick up one of the bags when she noticed her engagement ring on the dining table. She picked it up and played with it with the tips of her fingers. The ring mark on her finger hadn't yet faded but seeing the ring made her remember the fateful day he had placed it on her finger. Then she put it on and admired her hand. She sighed. Why did it have to make her hand look so pretty?

The light on her answering machine was blinking out of control so she decided it was as good a time as any to listen to her numerous messages. She hit the button and as the messages played, walked over to her refrigerator to find something to drink. After a few nervous calls from friends expressing their sympathy and extending their wishes, she heard Chris's voice come on.

"Hey, Baby. Where are you? I went to the hotel to find you but they said you checked out. Where are you?"

The next one form him came two messages later.

"Honey, I called Ginny and she said that you're not there. Are you at home? I'm at the door but you're not opening. Where are you? Shit." She heard him swear. "Why the fuck did I lose my key? Open the door."

The next one went, "I'm so sorry. Please. I'm so sorry. You can hit me all you want. You can scream at me all you want and I won't say anything. You have the right to do whatever you want with me. But you need to open the door to be able to do this. So open the door."

Even though she had poured herself a glass of soda, she had yet to take a sip. She felt her heart melting despite herself. She sighed. He really did sound sorry.

After a few more messages from him, with her heart shaking uncontrollably, wondering if she really could give him a second chance, another message from him came on.

"What the fuck is your problem? I'm apologizing here. Can't you hear me? Open the fucking door!"

The next one went like, "Okay, you don't want to talk to me. Fine. I don't need you. I can't believe how selfish you're being. How long do you want me to spend out here waiting for you? It started raining and you didn't even come out to get me. When did you become so heartless? Okay, forget about it. It's a good thing we didn't get married. I don't even know who are you are! Just return my ring! You don't deserve it. It's a family heirloom and there's no reason for you to keep it. So just send it in the mail!" He said before hanging up.

Hermione hissed and shook her head. And to think that she had even thought of forgiving him. Was he insane? Why did he feel entitled to her forgiveness? She pulled the ring off her hand put it back her friend had left it. Yeah, it was her fault. If she had never made it clear to him that she love him so much that she was willing to forgive him anything, he would have thought twice before leaving such a nasty message. And to top it off, he lied! Because as far as she knew, he bought that Tiffany ring during a business trip. She still loved him, after all, love didn't have an off switch one could use whenever they needed it but she was certain that she would never be with him again.

So a few messages later, when Chris called to apologize, stating that Harry had informed him that she had gone on their honeymoon, she didn't give a shit. As far as she was concerned, they were ancient history.

* * *

_Seven months later._

"I'm so happy you still have time to hang out with an old man like myself," Chris's father said to Hermione as they walked into a store.

"Liam, I will always have time for an old man like you," she replied, grinning at him.

"Oh, you're calling me an old man?" He frowned, pretending to be annoyed.

She laughed then linked her arm with his. "Yes, but I like old men like you."

Most girls usually buttered up to their prospective mothers-in-law but it was different for her. For some reason, she always got along really well with guys and apparently, that extended to fathers as well. Shortly after Chris had introduced her to his parents, she and his father realized they worked a few blocks apart and somehow fell into having lunch or hanging out together.

He enjoyed talking to her because she had never been intimated by him and always spoke freely, and something about how she treated him made him feel young again. For her part, Hermione had initially befriending him to kiss his ass but it didn't take long for her to like him independent of his relationship to her boyfriend. She enjoyed that he loved to gossip and always treated her like an equal. His so-called fatherly advice was kept to a minimum and for that she was truly grateful.

"So what do you think of that?" He asked, pointing at a diamond tennis bracelet. They were meeting to pick out a gift for his wife.

She sighed. "Thirty years of marriage. Wow, I can't even imagine that," she said as she bent over the counter to take a closer look. "Excuse me," she said to the salesgirl, "can you bring that one out so that we can look at it closely?"

Chris's father watched as she waited for the lady to unlock the case. He was still yet to get over the fiasco with her botched marriage. His son had always been very calculating and thorough when it came to making big decisions so he had been very shocked when he just hadn't shown up for the wedding.

Even though he understood that Hermione couldn't forgive him, he held onto the hope that one day, she would come around. Even though he really liked her as a friend, he really wanted her as a daughter-in-law. From all the girls he had met in his life, he never met anyone else that suited his son so well. They were a perfect match and it always amazed him at how easily young people destroyed valuable things.

"Here you are, Sir." The shop lady said, handing it to him.

They held onto the bracelet and watched it gleam in the light. "It's pretty shiny, don't you think?" He asked. "Does it look like something Chris's mother will like? Oh, speaking of which, have you given that foolish boy his ring back yet? I still can't believe that he tried to pretend that it was a family heirloom. Whose family? Stupid boy."

"No," she said, shaking her head. "He calls occasionally and no matter what we talked about, he ends up trying to get it back. Sometimes, I just want to give it back to him so he can leave me alone but other times, I feel that he doesn't deserve it."

"I understand," he said nodding. And from what he could see, the ring was the only thing left that linked them together. "Keep holding onto it and never give it back." _And maybe one day, there would be no need to._

* * *

She looked up from the designs in her hand. This was going to be an interesting project. A wealthy magitect wanted her to design a few robes for the whole winter season for him but he wanted to be a part of the project from beginning to finish. She felt like he was going to be a over-compulsive person that was going to put his input on everything. The clients that came to her usually just dropped off a picture of themselves and their sizes and left everything up to her. She didn't like to work with others but she realized that this wasn't an opportunity to slip through her fingers, knowing that this person was a wealthy well-known magitect in the Wizarding world. This could be her chance to show off her designs to them.

According to the magitect's assistant, he was a private person but he made frequent public appearances for his buildings he designed so he wanted a change of style this season. She had picked up a book filled with his creations and was awed. They were incredible. She wasn't much into modern designs but they were just incredible.

She glanced at her watch and saw that it was about time this magitect named D. M. joined her and when she saw one of the hostesses leading two men of varying heights and builds towards her, she sat up in her seat. The shorter man looked a bit older and even though she couldn't see the taller man's face, she could already tell that he was younger. They were both dressed in suits with no ties but the taller man's black suit was cut in a way that accentuated his toned build. He had the trendy, short hair that young people were sporting these days and there was something undeniably sexy about him. It was quite unethical for a designer to get involved with her client but judging from the looks of her last few clients that were wealthy, she was pretty much sure that he was the assistant she would barely see while the shorter many was the one she would spend hours with. Which suited her fine. After all, she wasn't quite ready to date any men yet.

As they got closer to her table, she stood up to greet them. She took one quick glance at her folder to read their names: D. M. and his assistant, Mike Smith. She put a smile on her face and looked up at them.

"Ma'am, your party has arrived," the hostess said before turning back around.

"Thank you." She beamed at the two men and stretched her hand out. "Hello, I'm Hermione Granger and I'll be your designer on this project." She shook the shorter man's hand then stretched her hand out to the taller man. "I've been looking forward to meeting you. I already anticipate enjoying working with you."

The guy took her hand but instead of shaking it, just held it.

Confused by his action, Hermione looked up into his eyes.

"Hello_ Jean_. Nice to meet you again," he said icily. "It's been a while."

Her eyes widened as recognition hit. "Damien?"


End file.
